O2 – lifelong education available to everyone

The institution for adult education Callidus presented its socially responsible project "O2 - Through education to sustainability"

In organization Institutions for adult education – Callidus a panel discussion was held on the topic of financial literacy, in which Callidus was also presented socially responsible project O2 - Through education to sustainability.

With this project, Callidus enables citizens to use free educational materials and applications for various areas of interest and age groups, which are aimed at supporting the lifelong learning of citizens and helping them acquire new or develop existing life skills in order to raise the quality of life.

"Lifelong education is an extremely important process for every individual who wants to keep up with the times and be competitive on the labor market. Our goal is to, as part of our socially responsible business, as an institution specifically intended for adult education, enable all citizens to use educational materials created as part of completed European projects of which Callidus was a partner or holder, free of charge. she pointed out Carmen Tariba, director of the Callidus Institution and founder of the O2 project.

Financial literacy is the first in a series of topics that citizens will have the opportunity to learn about for free from educational materials developed as part of the project called Piggy Bank, which will be available through the O2 platform. It's a piggy bank e-learning a platform intended to raise the level of financial literacy for the whole family.

Financial literacy - a necessary skill of a modern man

The development of technology, trends in the financial market, and the expansion of available financial services and products have led to the fact that financial literacy is becoming an increasingly necessary and important skill for modern man, with which she also agreed. blogger Sandra Ferenčak. On his blog called Aunt Sandra educates and advises citizens on why financial literacy is important, as well as how to start saving or investing. "I started my blog after years of experience in corporate finance management of different companies. At first it was just a hobby, but I am overjoyed that it has grown into something more and that I am able to help and motivate citizens to start behaving more financially responsible", said the Aunt.

How financially literate are Croats?

That awareness of the importance of financial literacy exists in Croatia is shown by the fact that in June 2021 the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a new National strategic framework of consumer financial literacy for the period from 2021 to 2026, which, by strengthening financial education, plans to achieve better financial management of Croatian citizens. She explained more about the current situation at the panel discussion Anja Tkalčević, analyst of the Directorate for Consumer Protection of the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA): "There is an increase in the level of financial literacy in Croatia, but research by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that, although Croats show a higher level of financial responsibility, long-term financial planning, for example, is still not on their list of priorities. This is a somewhat worrying fact, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has also shown that financial literacy is a skill we must acquire in order to make sound financial decisions. Also, research has shown that young people in Croatia still show the greatest lack of financial knowledge, therefore HANFA carries out a series of educational activities related to financial literacy specifically for young people and is happy to respond to projects that promote the importance of financial literacy".

Creativity and innovation are crucial in approaching young people

Lack of mandatory financial education through the education system, but in some cases also insufficient level of financial literacy of parents, from which children learn how to manage money, are some of the reasons why young people are an extremely vulnerable group when it comes to financial literacy.

One of the institutions in Croatia engaged in public advocacy of programs that encourage citizens' financial literacy and financial awareness and responsibility, as well as the introduction of systematic financial education, is Croatian Institute for Financial Education HIFE. President of HIFE Danijela Princi Grgat at the panel discussion she emphasized: "Responsible money management, thoughtful purchases, keeping a personal budget and long-term financial planning are just some of the items of financial literacy that need to be learned and developed from early childhood. Using creative and innovative educational methods and tools is the best way to involve young people as much as possible in the process of financial education".

In the context of financial education of children and young people quality assurance manager at Callidus, Miro Tariba pointed out: "In order to interest young people in the topic, we use creative and innovative approaches in learning, which is why we worked in this direction on the development of the Piggy Bank project. Various educational materials are therefore available on the platform, such as comics for the youngest, quizzes and escape room tasks for young people, as well as instructive workshops and texts for parents and educators whose purpose is to make citizens of all age groups financially literate in an educational, interactive and fun way..

Lifelong education - the ideal path towards the sustainability of society

At the end of the extremely useful and interesting panel discussion, the director of the Callidus Institution and the founder of the O2 project, Carmen Tariba, pointed out that Callidus' new project raises the experience of lifelong education to a completely new level, presenting the ideal path towards the sustainability of society. As part of the O2 project, it is currently possible to access the financial literacy program, and access options will be opened during the year many other projects and education adapted to all ages, interests and needs, which deal with topics such as empowering women for STEM careers, acquiring transversal skills among the NEET group, empowering green entrepreneurship and many others.

All educational projects and materials of the O2 platform as well as project news are available and can be used on Callidus' website. – link to O2